Related Articles

Dr Jason Tye-Din, gastroenterologist and head of celiac research at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, said the new diagnostic test gave a result within 24 hours and preliminary findings indicated it could accurately detect celiac disease. It is hoped that larger studies will verify its role as a widely used tool for diagnosing celiac disease.

"Current diagnosis of celiac disease is limited by the need for intestinal biopsies and patients to be eating gluten," Dr Tye-Din said. "For the many people who follow gluten-free diets without a formal diagnosis, reliable testing for celiac disease requires them to consume gluten again, which is often unpleasant and difficult."

Researchers from the Melbourne institute, with colleagues from biotechnology company ImmusanT in Boston, US, led a study of the blood test in 48 participants, the results of which were published in the journal Clinical & Experimental Immunology.

"Our findings reveal this novel blood test is accurate after only three days of gluten consumption, not the several weeks or months traditionally required to make a diagnosis using intestinal biopsies," Dr Tye-Din said.

celiac disease is caused by an abnormal immune (T cell) reaction to gluten in the diet, leading to damage to the small intestine. It can cause digestive symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, bloating, and diarrhea, as well as lethargy, anemia, headaches and weight loss. As many as one in 60 women and one in 80 men in Australia have celiac disease, but four out of five remain undiagnosed.

Dr Tye-Din said that the blood test built on fundamental research discoveries the team had made about celiac disease. "This 'cytokine release' test measures the T cell response to gluten after three days of consumption, and a positive response is highly predictive of celiac disease," he said. "With this test, we were able to detect a T cell response in the majority of study participants known to have celiac disease and importantly, the test was negative in all of the patients who did not have celiac disease, even though they followed a gluten-free diet and thought gluten was the cause of their symptoms."

Dr Tye-Din said that many 'gluten sensitive' people found it distressing to reintroduce gluten into their diet in order to be tested properly for celiac disease. "People are fearful about experiencing unpleasant symptoms and end up stopping prematurely or avoiding testing altogether," he said.

"A test that simplifies diagnosis for patients is likely to significantly enhance disease detection. This new diagnostic approach is encouraging and we hope that larger studies can validate these findings and establish its role in the diagnosis of celiac disease, with the possibility of avoiding intestinal biopsies for diagnosis altogether."

Dr Bob Anderson, chief scientific officer at ImmusanT, said that the blood test could also assist in the monitoring of a therapeutic vaccine for celiac disease. "This is an important step toward a tool that could monitor changes in the small population of circulating T cells responsible for celiac disease when using treatments intended to restore tolerance to gluten, such as Nexvax2®, the compound currently being developed by ImmusanT," Dr Anderson said.

Dr Tye-Din said it was important for people following a gluten-free diet to be properly tested for celiac disease. "celiac disease can lead to significant long-term complications such as malnutrition, osteoporosis, infertility, pregnancy issues, liver failure, infection and cancer, so it is essential that people with this illness are diagnosed and treated to reduce these complications," he said.

More From ScienceDaily

More Health & Medicine News

Featured Research

Mar. 3, 2015 — Most people consume more salt than they need and therefore have a higher risk of heart disease and stroke, which are the two leading causes of death worldwide. But a new study reveals that dietary ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Twice as many children born to mothers who took antibiotics during pregnancy were diagnosed with asthma by age 3 than children born to mothers who didn’t take prenatal antibiotics, a new study has ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Pediatric otolaryngologists and surgeons are concerned with parents getting the wrong message regarding the safety/desirability of letting babies and young children eat peanuts to prevent them from ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Why do people shake hands? A new study suggests one of the reasons for this ancient custom may be to check out each other's odors. Even if we are not consciously aware of this, handshaking may ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — It appears that stress markers in unemployed people can be found, independent of smoking, alcohol consumption and overweight/obesity. Results from a study suggest that long-term unemployment may be ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Doctors write millions of prescriptions a year for drugs to calm the behavior of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. But non-drug approaches actually work better, and carry ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Briefly counseling college students on the dangers of binge drinking is effective in lowering heavy drinking levels among many students, but only temporarily. Three out of four will be right back ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Body mass index in healthy adolescents has a statistically significant association with both systolic blood pressures and diastolic blood pressures, research shows, and it highlights the significance ... full story

Featured Videos

Mom Triumphs Over Tragedy, Helps Other Families

AP (Mar. 3, 2015) — After her son, Dax, died from a rare form of leukemia, Julie Locke decided to give back to the doctors at St. Jude Children&apos;s Research Hospital who tried to save his life. She raised $1.6M to help other patients and their families. (March 3)
Video provided by AP

Woman Convicted of Poisoning Son

AP (Mar. 3, 2015) — A woman who blogged for years about her son&apos;s constant health woes was convicted Monday of poisoning him to death by force-feeding heavy concentrations of sodium through his stomach tube. (March 3)
Video provided by AP

Related Stories

Nov. 5, 2014 — Although gluten-free foods are trendy among the health-conscious, they are necessary for those with celiac disease. But gluten, the primary trigger for health problems in these patients, may not be ... full story

Dec. 18, 2012 — Celiac disease affects about 1% of the population but occasional ‘epidemics’ have been noticed along with a seasonal variation in number of cases diagnosed. New research indicates that repeated ... full story

Dec. 15, 2010 — Findings from a new study of 141 adults add to an ongoing medical debate over which patients with symptoms of celiac disease should go on a gluten-free diet. The study concludes that people currently ... full story

July 8, 2010 — A research team from Argentina explored the accuracy of all available serological markers in diagnosing the disorder in the theoretical context of avoiding the invasive intestinal biopsy. They found ... full story

ScienceDaily features breaking news and videos about the latest discoveries in health, technology, the environment, and more -- from major news services and leading universities, scientific journals, and research organizations.